Police endorsement swings to Harris

Arnold Morgado
By comparison, only one board member was absent on April 1 when the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officer's Oahu chapter board voted 7-6 to endorse Morgado.

The director who missed the April 1 vote also did not attend yesterday's "emergency meeting," when the board gave its endorsement by a 7-0 margin to Mayor Jeremy Harris, according to a union source who requested anonymity.

SHOPO business manager Michael Joy said this morning that of the seven absent, four were excused. A ninth member attended but walked out before the vote.

Yesterday's meeting to re-evaluate the April 1 endorsement was called because of concerns expressed by the membership through letters, telephone calls and faxes, Joy said. "I think this endorsement reflects the majority of the membership."

Three board members asked that an emergency meeting be held to reconsider the endorsement, Joy said. Two of those attending yesterday's meeting changed their votes.

Joy said he believes they changed their minds because they were new to the board and had not yet seen all information provided by the candidates before the prior vote.

He said the SHOPO's process of selecting candidate endorsements "needs to be fixed" but he doesn't believe the switch would reflect badly on the union.

"In my opinion, it strengthens our union," he said, because it shows members "are not afraid to say they made a mistake."

There were some complaints aired during a regularly scheduled shop steward meeting last night but those dealt primarily with process, Joy said.

He doesn't know what will happen if rank-and-file members cause rancor. "We'll have to deal with it if and when it happens."

Morgado said other factors may have been involved in the reconsideration. "I understand that Internal Affairs initiated an investigation against at least one of my supporters alleging a violation of the City Charter concerning police campaigning activities," he said. "That information rippled through the department and had a chilling effect. The second thing was that a petition was circulated among police officers for support of a Harris endorsement."

A police union shop steward, who requested anonymity, said the petition has 452 signatures. There are about 1,800 SHOPO members on Oahu.

SHOPO spokeswoman Ola Souza said the union does not believe the petition was a Charter violation because it requested an action by the board and did not involve lobbying for a particular candidate. Petition results were confined mainly to the Honolulu area, she said.

In a letter delivered yesterday to SHOPO president Ray Ancheta, Morgado noted: "It has come to my attention that you and others of the state board have sought to have the Oahu chapter withdraw SHOPO's endorsement based on my accessibility to you.

"It has been and continues to be my position that I am willing to meet with you and discuss issues which are significant to SHOPO. I understand that a high priority for you is the user-fee assessed upon criminals.

"During our conversation, I had specifically stated that I am anxious to learn how this fee would generate millions of dollars for the city."

Morgado had panned the fee during the press conference announcing SHOPO's endorsement of him. Harris said the idea came from Ancheta.

The City Council's Budget Committee moved the user fee bill out on Tuesday. Ancheta testified for the bill and had praised Harris for supporting the proposal.

"I believe what is at issue here is the respective candidate's commitment to the police officer," Morgado further wrote. "I have placed mine in writing and the Harris administration's is clearly set forth in (the fiscal year) 1997's budget and last year's budget."

In another letter delivered yesterday to Oahu chapter board chairman John Souza, Morgado said, "I personally do not want to endanger the public perception and trust of our officers. For this reason, I ask that the Oahu board consider taking the issue of the endorsement directly to your membership so that there is no question as to who your members support."

The Oahu board is made up of 15 directors, but the chairman does not vote except to break a tie. A quorum of eight directors - Ron Jacobs, Andy Castro, Richard Phillips, Clyde Gouveia, William Tejada, Jay Trinidad, Rodrigo Dela Pena and Christopher Loando - were present at yesterday's special meeting. Jacobs, the secretary, served as acting chairman and did not vote.

Both Harris and Joy denied that pressure had been put on the board to rescind its vote.